Firearm trigger pull training system and methods

ABSTRACT

A firearm training system provides a firearm body having a trigger and a trigger pull sensor circuit. When the trigger is pulled, the trigger pull sensor circuit provides trigger pull data allowing monitoring of the actual two-dimensional trigger pull path taken by the trigger during the trigger pull. The trigger pull path is graft on a predetermined map together with boundary lines representing a predetermined difference threshold from ideal trigger pull data. The system provides a way to monitor trigger pull path to determine whether the trigger has been pulled laterally and/or the firearm body has moved with respect to a longitudinal axis of the firearm body during the trigger pull. By repeatedly monitoring trigger pulls using the system, a user can train to improve trigger pull technique.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/908,420 filed Oct. 20, 2010 entitled “FIREARMTRIGGER PULL TRAINING SYSTEM AND METHODS” which is acontinuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/504,313, filed Aug. 15, 2006, entitled “SHOOTING TRAINING DEVICE”,both of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the reproduction of the patent document or the patentdisclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office patentfile or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to firearms and more particularly todevices, systems and methods for use with a firearm or a firearm replicafor providing feedback to a user during or after live or practicefiring.

A firearm operator (i.e., a user) typically provides at least two typesof input when operating a firearm. First, the operator generally aimsthe firearm at a target. Second, the operator typically pulls thefirearm trigger using a single finger of the user's hand, therebyactivating a firing mechanism in the firearm to discharge one or moreprojectiles from the firearm barrel toward the target. In someapplications, a third type of user input includes applying force to thebarrel to keep the barrel steady (i.e., on target) before and during thetrigger pull.

Generally, during the pull of a firearm trigger, the operator applies apulling force against the trigger in at least two dimensions. First,when the trigger is pulled, a force is applied along a longitudinaltrigger axis generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the barrel.The longitudinal force application causes the trigger to movelongitudinally through the trigger track opening toward the rear of thetrigger guard. When the trigger has reached a predetermined longitudinalposition, the firing mechanism in the firearm is activated and a shot isfired, causing one or more projectiles to be discharged from thefirearm.

The second direction of force application against the trigger by theuser's hand can occur along a lateral axis oriented substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis. Typically, the application oflateral force against the trigger can cause the firearm barrel to moveoff the desired target in any direction. Such barrel movement isundesirable and causes inaccuracy of the fired shot. Similarly, afirearm operator may inadvertently apply force against the trigger usingthe operator's finger in a third, generally vertical, direction during atrigger pull, causing the firearm barrel to move up or down relative tothe desired target.

Others have attempted to monitor the position of a trigger on a firearmduring a trigger pull as a method of training a shooter to improvetrigger pull technique. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,913,655 teaches aTrigger Pull Measuring Device for and Method of Improving Trigger PullTechnique. Such conventional devices and methods, however, do notmonitor actual trigger movement in two dimensions and do not correlatetrigger pull path to actual barrel displacement. Such conventionalfirearm trigger pull monitoring systems are generally placed on anactual firearm and do not constitute a standalone training device.Moreover, conventional firearm trigger pull monitoring systems alsogenerally measure only the one-dimensional force applied to the triggeras a function of longitudinal position and do not provide a graphicaldisplay of two-dimensional trigger pull path. That is, their goal is totrain a user to pull the trigger with a constant speed, but do notmonitor lateral forces, correlate lateral forces to longitudinal triggerposition, or barrel displacement during trigger pull.

BRIEF SUMMARY

This Brief Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

In one aspect of the invention, a firearm training system includes atrigger pull sensor circuit and a processor. The trigger pull sensorcircuit is operable to provide trigger pull data in response to a userpulling a trigger of the firearm training system. The processor isoperable to receive the trigger pull data from the trigger pull sensorcircuit and generate a graph based on the trigger pull data. Theprocessor generates the graph by plotting the trigger pull data in apredetermined map. The predetermined map is a two-dimensional Cartesiancoordinate system representing a physical plane of the firearm trainingdevice.

In another aspect, one or more computer readable storage media haveinstructions stored thereon. The instructions are executable by acomputing device and include instructions for storing a predeterminedmap in a memory of the computing device. The map is a two-dimensionalCartesian coordinate system representing a physical plane of a firearmtraining device. The instructions include instructions for capturing, inthe memory, trigger pull data from a trigger pull sensor circuit of thefirearm training system. The instructions include instructions forgenerating a graph by plotting the captured trigger pull data on thepredetermined map. The instructions include instructions for displayingthe generated graph to a user on the display associated with thecomputing device.

In another aspect, a method of training a user via a firearm trainingdevice includes storing a predetermined map in a memory of the firearmtraining device. The map is a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinatesystem representing a physical plane of the firearm training device.Trigger pull data from a trigger pull sensor circuit of the firearmtraining system is captured in the memory in response to the userpulling a trigger of the firearm training system. A graph is generatedby plotting the captured trigger pull data on the predetermined map. Adisplay associated with the firearm training device displays thegenerated graph to the user.

One aspect of the present invention provides a firearm system forgraphically indicating a trigger pull path to a user. The systemincludes a firearm body including a handle and a barrel extending fromthe handle. The barrel defines a longitudinal barrel axis, and a firearmtrigger is disposed on the firearm body. A position input circuit isdisposed on the firearm body, and the position input circuit includes amulti-axis position controller mechanically attached to the trigger. Theposition input circuit emits a trigger position signal representative ofthe actual two-dimensional trigger pull path taken by the trigger whenthe trigger is pulled.

Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a firearm systemfor measuring a trigger pull path. The system includes a firearm bodyincluding a barrel defining a longitudinal barrel axis, and the firearmbody includes a handle shaped for being gripped by a user's hand. Aposition input circuit is disposed on the firearm body. The positioninput circuit includes a position controller having a post extendingtherefrom. The post is moveable along a first axis and a second axis,and the second axis is oriented substantially perpendicular to the firstaxis. Movement of the post along a first axis and a second axis caninclude movement in any direction in a Cartesian coordinate system. Amotion sensing circuit is disposed on the firearm body. The motionsensing circuit includes an accelerometer, and the motion sensingcircuit emits a firearm motion signal representative of movement of thefirearm body.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a method of providingfirearm user input information to a user. The method includes the stepsof: (a) providing a firearm body including a firearm trigger and aposition input circuit including a multi-axis position controller, thefirearm trigger being attached to the multi-axis position controller;(b) pulling the trigger; (c) sensing movement of the trigger along atleast two axes; (d) communicating trigger position information to anelectronic device having a monitor; and (e) displaying on the monitor ofthe electronic device a graphical trigger position indicatorrepresentative of the actual trigger pull path taken by the triggerduring the trigger pull.

One object of the present invention is to provide a trigger pulltraining system that allows a user to monitor user input, including theactual trigger pull path, during or after a trigger pull.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a trigger pulltraining system that allows a user to monitor actual barrel displacementassociated with a trigger pull.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a trigger pulltraining system that allows a user to simultaneously monitor both actualtrigger pull path and corresponding barrel displacement.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system thatallows a user to record information associated with multiple triggerpulls and then display that information sequentially or simultaneouslyon a display screen of an electronic device.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system thatwirelessly transmits information associated with a trigger pull to anelectronic device for storage and/or display.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a method oftraining a shooter to improve trigger pull technique by allowing theuser to graphically monitor the actual trigger pull path on a screen ofan electronic device.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a method ofmeasuring trigger movement along at least two dimensions by recordingthe longitudinal and lateral coordinates of a trigger at multiple pointsduring a trigger pull.

Numerous other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill be readily apparent to those of skill in the art, upon a reading ofthe following disclosure, when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a firearmsystem including a firearm body in the form of a rifle and an electronicdevice in wireless communication with the firearm body.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view of one embodiment of a firearmsystem including a firearm body and an electronic device having adisplay screen attached to the firearm body.

FIG. 3A illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a firearmsystem including a firearm body in the form of a handgun and anelectronic device in wireless communication with the firearm body.

FIG. 3B illustrates a partially broken away exploded view of anembodiment of a handle of a firearm body.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of an embodiment of a firearmsystem including a firearm body in the form of a shotgun and anelectronic device in communication with the firearm body.

FIG. 5 illustrates a side elevation view of an embodiment of a firearmbody.

FIG. 6 illustrates a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of afirearm body.

FIG. 7 illustrates a partially broken away detail view of an embodimentof a firearm body showing a trigger tensioner assembly.

FIG. 8 illustrates a partially broken away detail view of an embodimentof a firearm body showing a trigger tensioner assembly.

FIG. 9A illustrates an embodiment of a firearm system showing a wiredcommunication signal path between a firearm body and an electronicdevice.

FIG. 9B illustrates an embodiment of a firearm system showing a wirelesscommunication signal path between a firearm body and an electronicdevice.

FIG. 10A illustrates an embodiment of a motion sensing circuit for usein a firearm body in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 10B illustrates an embodiment of a gyroscope for use in a motionsensing circuit of and embodiment of a firearm body in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of a firearm system.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment of a firearm system.

FIG. 13 illustrates a partially broken-away view of an embodiment of ashoulder stock on a firearm body.

FIG. 14A illustrates an embodiment of a firearm system including afirearm apparatus in wireless communication with a mobile electronicdevice such as a cellular telephone.

FIG. 14B illustrates an embodiment of a mobile electronic device for usein a firearm system of the present invention.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a firearm body in accordance withthe present disclosure showing a computer readable storage medium.

FIG. 16 illustrates an embodiment of a graphical user interface fordisplay on an electronic device in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of a firearm system in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates an embodiment of a firearm system in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a firearm training system showing aprocessor.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of the firearm training system of FIG. 19showing the processor split across multiple physical devices.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart of a method of training a user via a firearmtraining system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the making and using of various embodiments of the presentinvention are discussed in detail below, it should be appreciated thatthe present invention provides many applicable inventive concepts thatcan be embodied in a wide variety of specific contexts. The specificembodiments discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific ways tomake and use the invention and do not delimit the scope of theinvention.

To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments described herein, anumber of terms are defined below. The terms defined herein havemeanings as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in theareas relevant to the present invention. Terms such as “a,” “an,” and“the” are not intended to refer to only a singular entity, but ratherinclude the general class of which a specific example may be used forillustration. The terminology herein is used to describe specificembodiments of the invention, but their usage does not delimit theinvention, except as set forth in the claims.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view ofan embodiment of a firearm system generally designated by the numeral10. In the drawings, not all reference numbers are included in eachdrawing for the sake of clarity. In addition, positional terms such as“upper,” “lower,” “side,” “top,” “bottom,” etc. refer to the apparatuswhen in the orientation shown in the drawing. The skilled artisan willrecognize that the apparatus can assume different orientations when inuse.

The firearm system 10 of the present invention generally provides a userthe ability to graphically monitor user input to the firearm during orafter a live or simulated trigger pull. A trigger pull generallyincludes the act of depressing, or pulling, the trigger using one ormore fingers of the firearm user's hand. In some embodiments, thefirearm system 10 allows a firearm user to monitor both the lateral andthe longitudinal displacement of the firearm trigger 20 during or aftera trigger pull. Such information is important to a firearm user fortraining purposes or for shot analysis. When a firearm trigger is pulleddirectly back only along a longitudinal axis, a fired shot actuated bythat trigger pull is more likely to be on target. However, when atrigger pull includes a lateral displacement component, the firearmbarrel can move inadvertently during the trigger pull, thereby causingthe shot to move off the desired target. By measuring and monitoring thepath of the trigger in at least two dimensions, a firearm user canimprove the trigger pull technique to improve accuracy.

Additionally, in some applications, a firearm user can use firearmsystem 10 of the present invention to measure and graphically monitorbarrel displacement associated with a trigger pull. For example, atrigger pull that includes trigger movement in more than one direction,i.e. a trigger pull having at least a two dimensional trigger pull path,can cause the firearm barrel to inadvertently move during the triggerpull. The term “trigger pull path” as used herein refers to the actualtwo-dimensional movement experienced by a trigger during a trigger pullfrom an initial resting position to a firing position. Such movement canbe detected and graphically monitored by the user of firearm system 10in some embodiments.

Thus, firearm system 10 of the present invention can be used to monitorthe path of a trigger only, to monitor barrel displacement only, or tomonitor both the path of a trigger and the displacement of the barrel.In some applications, firearm system 10 can be used as a training toolduring dry firing of a firearm or a firearm replica to train a user toimprove trigger pull technique. In other applications, the firearmsystem 10 of the present invention can be used to measure and store dataassociated with a trigger pull path and/or associated barreldisplacement data during live firing such as firing during targetpractice, product testing, hunting, recreational or competitiveshooting, and combat.

Referring further to FIG. 1, an embodiment of a firearm system 10includes a firearm body 11. Firearm body 11 in some embodiments includesa firearm such as a pistol, a rifle or a shotgun. In other embodiments,the firearm body 11 can include a replica of a pistol, rifle, shotgun orother type of firearm known in the art. In FIG. 1, one embodiment of afirearm body 11 including a rifle is generally illustrated. Firearm body11 generally includes a handle 16 and a barrel 14 extending from thehandle 16. Barrel 14 defines a longitudinal barrel axis 13 substantiallyaligned with the bore of barrel 14. A plane perpendicular to thelongitudinal barrel axis 13 is the plane in which barrel displacement ismeasured. Barrel 14 includes a hollow bore in some embodiments and isadapted for ejecting one or more projectiles. A firearm trigger 20 ispositioned on firearm body 11. Firearm trigger 20 can be configured forengagement by a single finger of a user's hand when the user's hand ispositioned on handle 16. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1,firearm body 11 also includes a shoulder stock 18.

As seen in FIG. 1, an electronic device 100 is in communication withfirearm body 11 in some embodiments. Electronic device 100 can includeany type of electronic device known in the art for graphicallydisplaying information or for storing information. Electronic device 100in some embodiments includes a portable electronic device such as alaptop notebook computer or a tablet computer such as an Apple iPad. Insome embodiments, electronic device 100 can be a desktop computer orother fixed electronic device. In further embodiments, electronic device100 can be a mobile cellular handset, i.e. a cellular telephone such asan iPhone manufactured by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif. or variousother models of cellular telephones manufactured by various othermanufacturers including Samsung, Research in Motion, Nokia, etc. Inadditional embodiments, electronic device 100 can include a personaldata assistant (PDA) or a television. In further embodiments, electronicdevice 100 can include a television.

Electronic device 100 typically includes a screen 101. The screen 101can be a backlit screen such as a television or computer screen, an LEDor LCD screen, or other types of display screens known in the art. Asseen in FIG. 1, electronic device 100 can communicate with firearm body11 using a wireless communication signal 76 in some embodiments. Inother embodiments, electronic device 100 can communicate with firearmbody 11 using a wired connection.

Referring now to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, electronic device 100 isattached to firearm body 11. Electronic device 100 includes a screen 101generally facing away from the barrel 14 positioned for viewing by auser of the firearm system. Electronic device 100 is pivotally attachedto firearm body 11 at a pivoting joint 112. Electronic device 100 can berotated, or pivoted, about pivoting joint 112 for adjusting the angularposition of electronic device 100 relative to firearm body 11. Pivotingjoint 112 allows electronic device to be repositioned for ease ofviewing or for storage when not in use. Electronic device 100 isillustrated in FIG. 2 generally in an open position for viewing by theuser of the firearm system 10. One or more wires can extend betweenelectronic device 100 and firearm body 11 in this embodiment.

In some embodiments, a scope 118 is attached to firearm body 11, as seenin FIG. 2. Scope 118 can include a viewing port and a screen generallyadapted to display trigger pull information. Scope 118 in someembodiments includes one or more lenses transparent to visiblewavelengths of light. An operator of firearm body 11 can look throughscope 118 toward a desired or simulated target. In some embodiments,scope 118 includes an internal graphical display screen adapted todisplay user input information. By observing the graphical displayscreen housed in scope 118, a user can maintain visual contact with atarget and monitor trigger pull path through the scope lens during atrigger pull.

Referring further to FIG. 2, three coordinate axes are generally definedrelative to firearm body 11. First axis 15 generally defines alongitudinal axis along which the trigger is primarily pulled during atrigger pull. First axis 15 can be oriented parallel to the barrel 14and the longitudinal barrel axis 13 in some embodiments, and can bedescribed as a longitudinal axis or a primary axis. A second axis 17 isgenerally oriented perpendicular to the first axis 15. Second axis 17can be described as a lateral axis 17 in some embodiments and isgenerally horizontal when the firearm body 11 is held in an uprightposition. A third axis 19 is generally oriented perpendicular to bothfirst axis 15 and second axis 17. Third axis 19 can be described as avertical axis in some embodiments.

Referring again to FIG. 1 and to FIG. 16, one or more graphicalindicators can be displayed on electronic device 100 to graphicallycommunicate, or display, firearm user input. At least two types offirearm user input can be graphically displayed on electronic device100. First, as seen in FIG. 16, electronic device 100 can provide agraphical display, or a graphical user interface 90, showing a linerepresentative of the trigger movement during a trigger pull, alsoreferred to as a trigger position indicator 108. Trigger positionindicator 108 generally includes a line representative of the triggerpull path, or trigger movement, along at least two axes. Graphical userinterface 90 can include a Cartesian coordinate plate representative ofthe two axes the trigger can be moved along during a trigger pull. Forexample, trigger 20 can be pulled along first axis 15 and second axis 17during a trigger pull. The trigger position indicator 108 includes aline that extends along first axis 15 and along second axis 17 on theCartesian coordinate system. The trigger position indicator 108 includesa plurality of individual points connected by a line, wherein each pointincludes an X coordinate and a Y coordinate corresponding to a positionof the trigger at an instant in time. Trigger position indicator 108 canbe displayed graphically to scale on screen 101. For example, a triggermovement of one micron can be graphically displayed as a one millimeteror larger line on screen 101. A trigger position scale ratio of actualtrigger movement to trigger position indicator length as displayed onscreen 101 of between about 1:1 and about 1:1000 is used in someembodiments of firearm system 10.

As seen in FIG. 16, graphical user interface 90 can be displayed onscreen (i.e., display or monitor) 101 of electronic device 100.Graphical user interface 90 displays a trigger position indicator 108represented as a line in one embodiment in a predetermined map 602 whichis a Cartesian coordinate system representing a plane perpendicular tothe trigger 20 of the firearm body 11. In some embodiments, triggerposition indicator 108 includes a single line beginning at a zeroposition (i.e., trigger default position) 114 and moving away from thezero position 114 toward a trigger stop position. Trigger positionindicator 108 moves relative to a center line 109 so that a user canvisually detect any lateral movement of the trigger. Center line 109represents the longitudinal axis 15 in some embodiments. In someembodiments, center line 109 and trigger position indicator 108 can beof different colors. In one embodiment, center line 109 is a static plot109 (e.g., a curve instead of a straight line) representing an idealtrigger pull path of the trigger of the firearm training system.

Also seen in FIG. 16, one or more boundary lines 112 a, 112 b aredisplayed on graphical user interface 90 in some embodiments. In oneembodiment, a first boundary plot 112 a is spaced from the static plot109 (i.e., the ideal trigger pull path) a distance corresponding to apredetermined threshold which is a function of a skill level setting.The first boundary plot 112 a is on a first side of the static plot 109.The second boundary plot 112 b is spaced from the static plot 109 adistance corresponding to the predetermined threshold which is afunction of the skill level setting. In one embodiment, thepredetermined threshold may vary at different points along the staticplot 109, and the predetermined threshold of the first boundary plot 112a may be different from the predetermined threshold of the secondboundary plot 112 b.

Boundary lines 112 a, 112 b represent an acceptable range of lateraltrigger movement. When trigger position indicator 108 is entirely withinboundary lines 112 a, 112 b, a successful trigger pull can be indicatedby firearm system 10 by a first audio or visual indicator, such as alight or a beep emitted by an audible transducer (i.e. speaker) of thefirearm training system 10. However, if the trigger position indicator108 extends outside first or second boundary lines 112 a, 112 b, anunsuccessful trigger pull can be indicated by firearm system 10 by asecond audio or visual indicator, wherein the first and second audio orvisual indicators are different. First and second boundary lines 112 a,112 b can be adjusted by the user to represent different trigger pullskill levels. Each skill level can correspond to a change in asensitivity setting in some embodiments. For example, when distance 115between boundary lines is decreased, the difficulty of performing asuccessful trigger pull is increased. Multiple virtual skill levels canbe programmed by a user using electronic device 100 or using firearmbody 11 for providing skill levels of varying difficulty. In oneembodiment, a virtual skill level control having a first skill levelcontrol 113 a and a second skill level control 113 b is included ongraphical user interface 90. First skill level control 113 a includes avirtual control for increasing skill level, i.e. for moving boundarylines 112 a, 112 b closer together. Similarly, second skill levelcontrol 113 b includes a virtual control for decreasing skill level,i.e. for moving boundary lines 112 a, 112 b farther apart.

Electronic device 100 can, in some embodiments, display the triggerposition indicator 108 in real time during the trigger pull. Forexample, the firearm system 10 can be in communication with electronicdevice 100 during the trigger pull so that a communication signalincluding trigger position information is communicated to electronicdevice 100 during the trigger pull. In another example, the firearmtraining system 10 can collect a plurality of trigger pull data sets anddisplay statistical information of the plurality of trigger pull datasets (e.g., average, running average, trends, etc.). In one embodiment,each trigger pull data set of the plurality of trigger pull data sets isplotted on a predetermined map 602 in a different color to generate agraph. The communication signal generally includes the longitudinal andlateral position coordinates of the trigger and/or scaled dataassociated with the longitudinal and lateral position coordinates alongthe first and second axes, respectively. Alternately, the communicationsignal can include information that can be used to calculate thelongitudinal and lateral position coordinates of the trigger. In oneembodiment, a communication signal is transmitted to the electronicdevice 100 by a wired connection using a cable 23, as seen in FIG. 4.Cable 23 can include a universal serial bus (USB) cable in someembodiments. In other embodiments, the communication signal istransmitted to the electronic device using a wireless connection, asillustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 for example. In other embodimentstrigger position indicator 108 is displayed in semi-real time followingone or more update delays in the communication signal transmittedbetween firearm body 11 and electronic device 100. For example,communication signal may be transmitted in periodic bursts, creating ashort lag between the movement of the trigger 20 and the graphicaldisplay of trigger position indicator 108 on electronic device 100. Inadditional embodiments, trigger position indicator 108 is not displayedat all during the trigger pull, but is rather displayed on the displayscreen 101 at a user's command after the trigger pull has beencompleted.

As noted above, the trigger pull path can influence the position of thefirearm barrel 14 relative to a target. When the trigger pull pathincludes a lateral component, the firearm body 11 can move up or downand/or from side to side, thereby moving firearm barrel 14 andinfluencing the trajectory of the bullet or projectiles at the moment anactual or simulated shot is fired. The motion of the barrel 14 isgenerally measured relative at least two axes. First, the barrel canmove along the lateral axis discussed above. Second, the barrel can movegenerally up and down along a vertical axis 19, seen in FIG. 1. Themovement of barrel 14 relative to the lateral and vertical axes caninfluence the shot trajectory. Thus, it is important for a firearm userto monitor the barrel displacement path during the trigger pull. Bymonitoring the effect a trigger pull has on the barrel displacement, auser of the firearm system 10 of the present invention can train toimprove trigger pull technique for minimizing inadvertent barreldisplacement improving the user's overall precision and accuracy.

As seen further in FIG. 1 and FIG. 16, in some embodiments a barreldisplacement indicator 110 can also be displayed on graphical userinterface 90 on screen 101 of electronic device 100. In one embodiment,barrel displacement data is plotted on a predetermined map 604. Thepredetermined map 604 is a two dimensional Cartesian coordinate systemcorresponding to a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thefirearm body of the firearm training system. An origin 116 of thepredetermined map 604 corresponds to a reference point of the barreldisplacement data. The origin or reference point 116 is determined orset when the user moves the trigger from a trigger default position(i.e., starting point). A barrel displacement boundary plot 606 isrepresentative of predetermined threshold of difference between thebarrel displacement data and the reference point. Barrel displacementindicator 110 graphically indicates movement of the firearm body 11, andparticularly movement of barrel 14, experienced during the trigger pull.For example, a trigger pull that includes a lateral trigger movement cancause a corresponding movement of the firearm body 11. Barreldisplacement indicator 110 provides a graphical representation of thedirection and the magnitude of the movement of firearm body 11. Barreldisplacement indicator 110 can be illustrated as a line beginning at abarrel zero position 116 and extending outward along at least two axes17, 19. Barrel displacement indicator 110 indicates lateral movementalong second axis 17 and vertical movement along third axis 19. Themovement of firearm body 11, and particularly barrel 14, represented bybarrel displacement indicator 110 can be due to linear motion along oneor more axes, angular rotation about one or more axes, or asuperposition of both linear motion and angular rotation about one ormore axes. By monitoring the barrel displacement during the triggerpull, a user can detect the amount of inadvertent barrel movement thatresults from a pull of the trigger.

Also seen in FIG. 16, a numeric barrel displacement indicator 111 can beincluded on graphical user interface 90. Numeric indicator 111 indicatesthe distance the barrel has moved off the barrel zero position 116during the trigger pull. Generally, the barrel position indicator 110begins at the origin, or barrel zero position 116, when a trigger pullis initiated. Movement of the firearm body 11 is measured throughout thetrigger pull, and the movement is graphically displayed as a lineforming barrel displacement indicator 110. When the trigger pull iscomplete, the barrel displacement indicator 110 stops at a final barreldisplacement position 117. Numeric indicator 111 indicates the distancebetween the final barrel displacement position 117 and the barrel zeroposition 116. Numeric indicator 111 can be programmed to display thenumeric distance a projectile fired from the firearm body 11 will moveoff the zero barrel position 116 following a trigger pull. Numericbarrel displacement indicator 111 in some embodiments can indicatebarrel displacement data scaled to correspond to various shotparameters, including target distance.

Referring now to FIG. 3A, in some embodiments, firearm apparatus 10includes a firearm body 11 having the shape of a pistol, or a handgun.Firearm body 11 can include a semi-automatic handgun, a revolver, oranother type of handgun or handgun replica known in the art. Firearmbody 11 in this embodiment generally includes a handle 16 adapted forbeing gripped by a user's hand. A trigger 20 is attached to firearm body11 generally extending toward handle 16. In some embodiments, thetrigger 20 is shaped for being engaged by only one finger of a user'shand when the user's hand is positioned on handle 16. Trigger 20generally includes a curved, or concave, region 21. A first circuitboard 30 is disposed inside receiver 12 on firearm body 11. Firstcircuit board 30 generally includes a position input circuit including amulti-axis position controller 48. In some embodiments, more than onesingle-axis position controllers can be used in the position inputcircuit instead of a single multi-axis position controller 48. Positioncontroller 48 includes a post 49 extending downward away from the firstcircuit board 30. Trigger 20 is mechanically attached to post 49 so thatwhen trigger 20 is pulled toward the back of the trigger guard 16, post49 is moved toward handle 16 and an electronic trigger position signalis generated by position controller 48. As seen in FIG. 3A, a firearmbody 11 having a handgun shape is in communication with electronicdevice 100 via a wireless communication signal 76 in some embodiments.Trigger position indicator 108 can be graphically displayed onelectronic device 100 and corresponds to the movement of trigger 20during the trigger pull. A barrel displacement indicator 110 is alsodisplayed on electronic device 100 and corresponds to the displacementof barrel 14 during the trigger pull.

As seen in FIG. 3B, in some embodiments, handle 16 defines a handlecavity 26. A handle insert 27 can be inserted into handle cavity 26. Insome embodiments, a second circuit board 60 is positioned on insert 27.Handle insert 27 can be inserted into handle 16 on firearm body 11 insome embodiments. In some embodiments, removable insert 27 isinterchangeable with an ammunition magazine, or clip, for insertion intohandgun cavity 26. In some embodiments, handle insert 27 includes amagazine for storing ammunition and a second circuit board 60.

Referring now to FIG. 4, in some embodiments, firearm system 10 includesa firearm body 11 forming a shotgun or a replica of a shotgun. Firearmbody 11 generally includes a barrel 14 and a handle 16. Barrel 14 insome embodiments can include a first barrel 14 a and a second barrel 14b. A shoulder stock, or butt stock 18, is also attached to firearm body11. In some embodiments, the firearm body 11 can include anover-and-under shotgun, a side-by-side shotgun, a single shot shotgun, apump shotgun or a semi-automatic shotgun. The shotgun of FIG. 4 cancommunicate with an electronic device 100 by a communication signal 76.In some embodiments, communication signal is a bidirectional wirelessdata signal. In other embodiments, a communication wire 23 can beconnected to firearm body 11 at a first end and also connected toelectronic device 100 at a second end for providing a path fortransmission of communication signal 76.

Referring now to FIG. 5, in some embodiments a firearm body 11 includesan adjustable trigger 20. Trigger 20 in one embodiment includes amechanism for adjusting the trigger pull force, or the amount of forcerequired to fully depress trigger 20. In different applications,different types of firearms can include triggers having differenttrigger pull force characteristics. For example, a long-range huntingrifle may have a trigger that requires a relatively small amount oflongitudinal force to actuate the trigger and to fire a round. Incontrast, a shotgun or handgun for use in some applications can includea trigger that has a relatively larger trigger pull force requirement.Additionally, different firearm operators may prefer different triggerpull force settings. In some embodiments, the present invention providesa firearm body 11 that includes an adjustable trigger pull force. Insome embodiments, seen in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a tensioner knob 140extends from receiver 12. Tensioner knob 140 can be rotated to adjustthe tension applied to trigger 20. A trigger tension indicator 146 isalso disposed on firearm body 11. Trigger tension indicator 146generally indicates the current tension setting of trigger 20 on firearmbody 11. When the tensioner knob 24 is turned in a first direction, thetrigger tension can be reduced, and when the tensioner knob 24 is turnedin the opposite direct, the trigger tension can be increased.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a trigger tensioner assembly 130 is disposed onfirearm body 11 in some embodiments. Trigger tensioner assembly 130includes a shaft 148 and a means for rotating the shaft. In someembodiments, the means for rotating the shaft is a worm gear 145. Theworm gear 145 includes worm gear shaft 141 with a worm drive that can berotated using a tensioner knob 140. When worm gear shaft 141 is rotated,the worm drive engages worm gear 145 and causes shaft 148 to rotate. Aspring mandrel 149 is attached to shaft 148. In some embodiments, springmandrel 149 is attached to worm gear 145. Spring mandrel 149 includes atorsion spring 143 disposed around spring mandrel 149. Torsion spring143 can include one or more turns of a resilient wire-shaped materialaround the spring mandrel 149. In some embodiments, a first end oftorsion spring 143 is rigidly attached, or fixed, to the spring mandrel149. The second end of torsion spring 143 can be attached to a pulley151 rotatably disposed about spring mandrel 149. In some embodiments,pulley 151 is pivotally attached to shaft 148. Pulley 151 can generallyrotate relative to shaft 148 and/or spring mandrel 149. When pulley 151is attached to spring 143, pulley 151 is biased toward a first angularposition such that when pulley 151 is forcibly rotated to a secondangular position, the torsion spring 143 acts to apply a force on pulley151 directed toward the first angular position.

The tensioner assembly 130 includes a tensioner cable 142, as seen inFIG. 7 and FIG. 8. Tensioner cable 142 can include a pliable cablecomprising a metal or plastic material or any other material suitablefor withstanding and transferring tensile forces known in the art. Insome embodiments, tensioner cable 142 can include a rigid or semi-rigidmember extending wholly or partially between trigger 20 or post 49 andpulley 151. As seen in FIG. 7, cable 142 extends from trigger 20 topulley 151. In some embodiments, when trigger 20 is at a resting, orzero position, a tension preload is applied to pulley 151 by spring 143,causing cable 142 to remain under a tensile load when trigger 20 is at aresting position, i.e. not actuated. In other embodiments, when trigger20 is at a resting, or zero position, no tension preload is applied topulley 151 by spring 143. When tensioner knob 140 is rotated, thetension applied to cable 142 is increased or decreased in a controlledmanner by changing the tension in spring 143.

Referring further to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, pulley 151 can include a pulleyflange 152 protruding from pulley 151. Pulley flange 152 can extendtoward trigger 20 in some embodiments. In other embodiments, pulleyflange 152 extends from any other angular position on pulley 151. Whentrigger 20 is pulled generally away from tensioner assembly 130, pulley151 rotates about spring mandrel 149 and/or shaft 148. As pulley 151rotates during the trigger pull, an angular force acts on pulley 151provided by spring 143 generally opposing the direction of pulleyrotation. During pulley rotation, pulley flange 152 also rotates.

As seen in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a creep adjustment knob 150 extends fromfirearm body 11 in some embodiments. Creep adjustment knob 150 can beselectively moved to adjust the trigger creep. Trigger creep is definedas the longitudinal distance the trigger is pulled before a firingmechanism is actuated inside firearm body 11 for firing a shot. When thetrigger is pulled a predetermined distance, an event is initiated. Theevent can include the firing of a shot, or the beginning or end of dataacquisition. By allowing adjustable trigger creep, firearm body 11 offirearm system 10 can provide a user the ability to simulate differenttypes of firearms having various trigger creep characteristics for usein various shooting situations. Creep adjustment knob 150 in oneembodiment, seen in FIG. 8, is attached to a trigger stop, or creepadjustment block 147. Trigger stop 147 can generally be angularly orradially positioned relative to tensioner assembly 130. In someembodiments, trigger stop 147 is attached to tensioner assembly 130. Inother embodiments, trigger stop 147 is attached to firearm body and isgenerally moveable along creep slot 156, seen in FIG. 6, to adjust theamount of trigger creep. For example, when creep adjustment knob 150 isloosened, trigger stop 147 can be angularly repositioned along creepslot 156, thereby changing the trigger creep setting. Creep adjustmentknob 150 can be tightened at the desired trigger creep setting, fixingtrigger stop 147 in place by pulling trigger stop 147 toward creepadjustment knob 150. In some embodiments, a trigger stop flange 153extends from trigger stop 147 and slidably engages creep slot 156.

Referring further to FIG. 8, in some embodiments trigger pull length, ortrigger creep, is determined by the free angular rotation distance 155between pulley flange 152 and trigger stop 147. As trigger 20 is pulled,pulley 151 and pulley flange 152 rotate toward trigger stop 147.Eventually, pulley flange 152 engages trigger stop 147 and the end ofthe trigger pull is reached, i.e. the trigger can be pulled no fartheralong the longitudinal axis. In some embodiments, a stop switch 154 ispositioned on trigger stop 147. Stop switch 154 can include anelectronic push-button or plunger style switch suitable for sending asignal to the electronics on firearm body 11 to indicate the end of thetrigger pull has been reached. In other embodiments, stop switch 154 caninclude an optical switch such as a laser, a photodetector, or any othertype of optical switch suitable for generating an output signal. Whenstop switch 154 is actuated, the electronics on firearm body 11 cangenerally perform a predetermined task. For example, in someembodiments, firearm body 11 can be used in a first mode wherein thetrigger pull path indicator and/or barrel displacement indicators willnot be displayed until the stop switch 154 is actuated. Similarly, insome embodiments, the information associated with a trigger pull willnot be stored until the stop switch 154 is actuated. In additionalembodiments, pulley flange 152, or another structure attached totensioner assembly 130, will engage a mechanical firing mechanism onfirearm body 11 for firing a shot.

Firearm body 11 generally includes a position input circuit including atleast one position sensor, or position controller, operative for sensingmovement of trigger 20 during a trigger pull along one or more axes.Typically, a trigger pull includes at least two position coordinates.First, trigger 20 is pulled along a first, or primary, axis. In someembodiments, the first axis 15 is parallel to longitudinal barrel axis13. It is understood that in some embodiments the first axis 15 may bemisaligned with the longitudinal barrel axis 13, and the primarylongitudinal trigger pull direction is not aligned with the longitudinalbarrel axis 13. Second, trigger 20 may be inadvertently moved laterallyalong a second axis 17 oriented substantially perpendicular to the firstaxis 15 during a trigger pull. The longitudinal and lateral triggermovement along at least the first and second axes form a trigger pullpath.

Referring again to FIG. 3A, in some embodiments a firearm body 11includes a position input circuit (i.e., a trigger pull path sensor) 40including a multi-axis position controller 48 mechanically attached totrigger 20. In some embodiments, the multi-axis position controller is adual-axis joystick controller. Multi-axis position controller 48 in anexemplary embodiment is a two-axis ministick controller model252A103B60NA-ND manufactured by CTS Corporation of Elkhart, Ind. In someembodiments, position input circuit 40 is disposed on a first printedcircuit board 30 positioned in receiver 12 generally above trigger 20.The multi-axis position controller 48 in some embodiments provides apost 49 protruding toward trigger 20, and trigger 20 is attached to post49. Multi-axis position controller 48 in some embodiments includes oneor more variable resistors that engage in sliding contact with one ormore contact pads attached to post 49. When post 49 is moved along oneor more axes, the resistance of the one or more variable resistors ischanged. A corresponding voltage measured across each variable resistorwill also change, and trigger movement can be determined by correlatinga measured change in voltage to a change in position of post 49.

Referring now to FIG. 9A, in some embodiments position input circuit 40is disposed on firearm body 11. Position input circuit 40 generallyemits a trigger position signal 41 representative of the position oftrigger 20. Trigger position signal 41 can include one or more analogvoltage output signals or digital output signals. Trigger positionsignal 41 can be sent to a microprocessor, or microcontroller 66. Insome embodiments, microcontroller 66 includes a programmablemicrocontroller, for example a model of the PIC24FJXXXGA1/GB1 family ofmicrocontroller devices manufactured by Microchip Technology Inc. ofChandler, Ariz. In one embodiment, microcontroller 66 includes a modelPIC24FJ256GA106-I/PT 16-bit microcontroller manufactured by MicrochipTechnology, Inc. of Chandler, Ariz. It is understood that othermicrocontroller devices produced by various manufacturers can also beused in accordance with the present invention.

Referring further to FIG. 9A, a motion sensing circuit (i.e., a barreldisplacement sensor) 50 is also disposed on firearm body 11 in someembodiments. Motion sensing circuit 50 emits a firearm motion signal 51representative of movement of firearm body 11. Firearm motion signal 51is generally sent to microprocessor 66. Firearm motion signal 51generally includes information related to the linear and/or rotationalmotion of firearm body 11 before, during or after the trigger pull, andcan be conditioned using a signal conditioning circuit prior to beingsent to microprocessor 66 in some embodiments. Firearm motion signal 51can include an analog voltage signal or a digital signal. Motion sensingcircuit 50 is generally configured for detecting and communicatingmotion of the firearm body 11 relative to a fixed reference frame suchas a gravitational vector. In one embodiment, seen in FIG. 10A, motionsensing circuit 50 includes an accelerometer 54 and a first gyroscope52. Accelerometer 54 generally emits an accelerometer signal 55representative of linear motion of firearm body 11, and first gyroscope52 generally emits a first rotational motion signal, or first gyroscopesignal 53, representative of rotational motion of firearm body about atleast one axis.

Accelerometer 54 is generally adapted to detect linear motion of firearmbody 11 along at least one axis. For example, during a trigger pull, auser might inadvertently move, or jerk, the firearm body 11 along firstaxis 15, second axis 17 or third axis 19, thereby causing barrel 14 tomove and affecting the trajectory of a fired shot. By measuring suchlinear movement of firearm body 11 along at least one axis, a user canmonitor barrel movement. In some instances, such linear movement can beassociated with an improper trigger pull. Accelerometer 54 can be asingle-axis accelerometer adapted for detecting motion in only onelinear direction, a dual-axis accelerometer adapted for detecting motionin two linear directions, or a three-axis accelerometer adapted fordetecting motion in three linear directions. In one embodiment,accelerometer 54 includes a model LIS352AX MEM inertial sensorthree-axis absolute analog-output accelerometer manufactured bySTMicroelectronics of Geneva, Switzerland. Accelerometer 54 emits anaccelerometer signal 55, or linear motion signal 55. Linear motionsignal 55 includes a signal corresponding to linear movement of firearmbody along at least one axis. In some embodiments, linear motion signal55 can be sent to a signal conditioner 56, seen in FIG. 11, forimproving the quality of the linear motion signal 55. For example, anoperational amplifier circuit can be used as a signal conditioner 56 forconditioning linear motion signal 55, as seen in one embodiment in FIG.11. A conditioned linear motion signal 58 can be emitted from the signalconditioner 56 to a microprocessor 66 in some embodiments. Conditionedlinear motion signal 58 can be amplified or filtered to remove noise,and can generally include one or more analog voltage signals or digitalsignals.

First gyroscope 52 is generally operable to detect rotational motion offirearm body 11 about at least one axis. For example, during a triggerpull, a user might inadvertently move, or jerk, the firearm body 11 in arotational motion about one or more axes including first axis, 15,second axis 17 and/or third axis 19. Such rotational movement of firearmbody 11 around any one or more axes can cause barrel 14 to move, therebyaffecting the trajectory of a fired shot. In some embodiments, firstgyroscope 52 can include a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) sensorand can include more than one gyroscope sensor included in a singleintegrated circuit (IC) package. For example, in one embodiment, firstgyroscope 52 includes a model IDG-1150 dual-axis gyroscope manufacturedby InvenSense, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif. First gyroscope 54 includes twogyroscope sensors integrated on a single chip in some embodiments, asseen in FIG. 10B. In one embodiment, first sensor 57 a is adapted tomeasure rotation of firearm body 11 about the first axis 15, and secondsensor 57 b is generally adapted to measure rotation about the secondaxis 17. First sensor 57 a emits a first sensor signal 53 acorresponding to rotation about the first axis 15, and second sensor 57b emits a second sensor signal 53 b corresponding to rotation about thesecond axis 17. First and second sensor signals 53 a, 53 b form firstgyroscope signal, or first rotational signal 53, which includes ananalog voltage signal in some embodiments. In other embodiments, firstrotational signal 53 includes a digital output signal.

Referring to FIG. 11, in some embodiments, position input circuit 40 andmotion sensing circuit 50 are both positioned on a first circuit board30. In some embodiments, microcontroller 66 can also be positioned onfirst circuit board 30. In yet other embodiments, as seen in FIG. 12,microcontroller 66 is positioned on a second circuit board 60. Secondcircuit board 60 can be positioned on firearm body 11 at variouslocations, including on receiver 12, stock 18, as illustrated in oneembodiment in FIG. 13, or handle 16 as illustrated in one embodiment inFIG. 3A. Additionally, second circuit board 60 can be detachably securedto firearm body 11 on a removable insert 27 adapted to be inserted intoa hollow region 26 defined in handle 16, seen in FIG. 3B. Second circuitboard 60 can include a second gyroscope 62 operable to detect rotationof the firearm body about a third axis 19 oriented substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal barrel axis 13. The third axis 19 canalso be described as being perpendicular to the longitudinal barrel axis13 when the third axis 19 is perpendicular to a reference axis that isparallel to the longitudinal barrel axis 13. In some embodiments, thesecond gyroscope 62 is positioned a longitudinal distance from the firstgyroscope 52. The longitudinal distance in some embodiments is greaterthan about ten millimeters. By providing two gyroscopes positioned alongitudinal distance apart, the movement of the firearm body can bemeasured more precisely in some applications. Second gyroscope 62 caninclude multiple gyroscope sensors in some embodiments.

Referring again to FIG. 9A, in some embodiments a communication signal76 is transmitted to electronic device 100. Communication signal 76 caninclude digital or analog signals including information related totrigger position, trigger movement, linear movement of firearm body 11,rotational movement of firearm body 11, barrel displacement along atleast two axes, or other information to be displayed on electronicdevice 100. Communication signal 76 can include an analog output signal,a digital output signal or both. In some embodiments, communicationsignal 76 is bidirectional. Communication signal 76 can pass toelectronic device 100 via a wired communication signal path, asillustrated in FIG. 9A, or via a wireless communication signal path, asillustrated in FIG. 9B. Wireless signal transmission of communicationsignal 76 can operate using any type of wireless communication protocolknown in the art, such as but not limited to serial or parallel wirelessdata transmission, TCP/IP communication, radio frequency communication,infrared radiation communication or combinations of these.

Referring to FIG. 9B, in some embodiments firearm body 11 includes atransmitter or transceiver 64. Transceiver 64 can be positioned on firstprinted circuit board 30 or on second printed circuit board 60.Additionally, transceiver 64 can be positioned at other locations onfirearm body 11. Transceiver 64 in one embodiment includes a radiotransmitter for transmitting communication signal 76 to a receiver basedon electronic device 100. In some embodiments, transceiver 64 uses afrequency-hopping spread spectrum data transmission protocol, such asBluetooth, to send data wirelessly to electronic device 100 via wirelesscommunication signal 76. Electronic device 100 includes a correspondingreceiver or electronic device transceiver 103 capable of receiving andprocessing the wireless communication signal 76. In some embodiments,firearm body transceiver 64 includes a radio transceiver capable oftransmitting and receiving data in the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientificand medical radio frequency band. Communications circuitry includingfirearm body transceiver 64 can use any suitable communications protocolincluding Bluetooth, WIFI, 802.11, CDMA, GSM or other cellular orwireless communications protocols. In one embodiment, firearm bodytransceiver 64 includes a model WT11 Class 1 Bluetooth Modulemanufactured by Bluegiga Technologies of Espoo, Finland. It isunderstood that other models of transceivers or transmitters operable touse any suitable wireless data transmission protocol may also beattached to firearm body 11 for wirelessly transmitting a communicationsignal to electronic device 100.

Referring further to FIG. 9B, because Bluetooth devices, includingtransmitters, receivers and transceivers, exist in many electronicsproducts, firearm body 11 including a Bluetooth-enabled transceiver 64can communicate with various devices, including laptop computers,personal digital assistants, mobile cellular handset devices, tabletcomputers or other Bluetooth-enabled devices. In some embodiments, thefirearm body 11 includes a Bluetooth transceiver that can be operated ina discoverable mode. When the firearm body 11 is within range of aBluetooth-enabled host, such as a PC or a mobile cellular handset, aconnection is initiated by the host. Communication between theBluetooth-enabled host, i.e. personal computer or mobile cellularhandset, and the transceiver 64 located on firearm body 11 isbi-directional in some embodiments. Data and status changes are sentfrom the firearm body 11 to the host. If controls or inputs aremanipulated on the host, the changes are sent from the host to thefirearm body 11. For example, a user may change software settings on thehost electronic device 100 to adjust the difficulty level for thetrigger pull measurement. The changed setting will be transmitted fromthe host to the firearm body 11 by the bidirectional communicationsignal 76, as illustrated for example in FIG. 14A.

Firearm body 11 communicates with the host through a virtual serial COMport on the host via the Bluetooth wireless communication protocol insome embodiments. The host can include multiple COM ports, and theproper COM port generally must be selected for proper data transmissionbetween the firearm body 11 and the electronic device 100. In oneembodiment, a graphical user interface (GUI), illustrated in FIG. 16includes a port icon 91 for selection of the proper COM port. The COMport selection information can be stored on the host and will beautomatically chosen when the same firearm body 11 is reconnected in afuture session.

Referring again to FIG. 13, in some embodiments, second circuit board 60is housed in stock 18. A battery 24 can also be housed in stock 18 insome embodiments. Battery 24 provides electrical power to circuitry infirearm body 11, including the position input circuit, the motionsensing circuit, and other circuits. In some embodiments, a power switch22 is positioned on stock 18 for selectively powering the circuitry onfirearm body 11. In one embodiment, power switch 22 is a rocker switch.Other types of switches known in the art can be used. In someembodiments, battery 24 is a rechargeable battery, and firearm body 11includes a recharger plug 25 for connecting an external power source tofirearm body 11 for recharging battery 24. In some embodiments, battery24 can be a removable battery such as a conventional nine volt batteryor a type AA, AAA, C, D, etc. or another type battery known in the art.

Additionally, as seen in FIG. 13, in some embodiments, the firearm body11 includes a buzzer or audio transducer 29. Buzzer 29 can be configuredto be activated to emit an auditory signal detectable by the user when asuccessful or unsuccessful trigger pull is detected. For example, a usermay select a sensitivity level for determining a successful trigger pulldefining a maximum allowable lateral displacement boundary in eitherlateral direction along second axis 17. When the lateral movement oftrigger 20 exceeds the maximum allowable lateral displacement boundary,an auditory signal is emitted by buzzer 29. In some embodiments, thefirearm system 10 includes a buzzer control for selectively activatingthe buzzer feature. For example, a user may want to use the firearmsystem for monitoring firearm input information in a silent mode, so thebuzzer feature can be deactivated using the buzzer control. In someembodiments, buzzer control is a virtual control including a buzzer icon92 on graphical user interface 90.

Referring now to FIG. 15, in some embodiments, firearm body 11 storesdata onto a computer readable storage media 68, such as a flash memorydevice or the like, as illustrated generally in FIG. 15. In oneembodiment, computer readable storage media 68 includes a removablememory card such as a Secure Digital (SD) format memory card of the typemanufactured by SanDisk of Milpitas, Calif. Data associated with one ormore trigger pulls and/or barrel displacement data can be storeddirectly onto the computer readable storage media 68. Generally, a datawrite signal 69 is sent from microcontroller 66 to computer readablestorage media 68 either during or following a trigger pull. The computerreadable storage media 68 device can then be removed from firearm body11 and can be attached to a computer or other electronic device foranalyzing or graphically displaying the stored information. Additionalinformation can also be stored on computer readable storage media 68,including for example trigger pull tension and trigger creep settings,ambient temperature, distance to target, yardage, windage, location orother information. In some embodiments, the computer readable storagemedia 68 includes software operable for processing by microprocessor 66.

Referring again to FIG. 9A, in some embodiments electronic device 100includes a monitor, or screen 101, for graphically displaying ormonitoring information associated with firearm user input, i.e. triggermovement and/or barrel displacement. Screen 101 is attached to firearmbody 11, as seen in FIG. 2 in some embodiments. In other embodiments,screen 101 is located on an external electronic device such as acellular telephone, a television or a computer. As seen in FIG. 9A, acommunication signal 76 is sent to electronic device 100. In someembodiments, a display driver 102 processes communication signal 76.Display driver 102 then sends a display signal 104 to monitor, or screen101. In some embodiments, display driver 102 includes a graphicscontroller. For example, display driver 102 can include a model SSD1926graphic controller manufactured by Microchip Technologies, Inc. ofChandler, Ariz. in some embodiments. In some embodiments, screen 101 isa backlit LCD display module adapted to receive display signal 104.Display driver 102 can include a backlight driver for the backlit LCDdisplay module, for example a model LT1937 LED backlight driver such asthat manufactured by Linear Technology of Milpitas, Calif. can be usedwith the monitor.

Referring to FIG. 17, in some embodiments, electronic device 100includes an input device 105. Input device 105 in some embodimentsincludes a touch screen input device. For example, in some embodiments,input device 105 is an overlay screen positioned on monitor 102. Inputdevice 105 can receive user control input such as skill level, yardage,windage or projectile information such as bullet type, bullet mass, oramount of propellant. In some embodiments, communication signal 76 is abidirectional signal, and user control input information entered usinginput device 105 is communicated to firearm body 11. For example, skilllevel information can be used to control buzzer 29, seen in FIG. 13.Similarly, user control input information can be stored on a computerreadable storage media 68 on firearm body 11, seen in FIG. 15. Duringuse, in some embodiments, firearm system 10 includes the capability tostore information associated with one or more trigger pulls as well ascontrol input information. The stored information can be displayedsequentially or simultaneously in graphical or numeric format on displayscreen 101.

Referring now to FIG. 18, in some embodiments, firearm body 11 includesa firing mechanism 160. Firing mechanism 160 can include an electroniccomponent suitable for controlling a mechanical firing pin assembly insome embodiments. Firing mechanism 160 generally receives an inputfiring signal 157 from stop switch 154. Input firing signal 157 caninclude an analog voltage signal or a digital signal. When firingmechanism 160 receives the input firing signal 157, firing mechanism canbe actuated to operate the mechanical firing pin assembly, therebyfiring a shot of one or more projectiles from firearm body 11. In someembodiments, the trigger position and firearm body movement can bemonitored during the trigger pull and/or throughout firing of the shot.By monitoring such information, the user can correlate trigger and/orbarrel displacement measured by the circuitry on firearm body 11 to theactual trajectory taken by the fired shot. In some applications, a usercan fire a plurality of shots from the firearm and the trigger movementand barrel displacement information associated with each shot can bestored on a computer readable storage medium for future analysis.

In additional embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproviding firearm user input information to a user. The method includesthe steps of: (a) providing a firearm including a firearm body and atrigger, a position input circuit including a multi-axis positioncontroller; (b) pulling the trigger; (c) sensing movement of the triggeralong at least two dimensions during the trigger pull; (d) communicatingtrigger movement information to a electronic device; (e) displaying onthe electronic device a graphical trigger position indicatorrepresentation of the trigger pull path along at least two dimensions.

Referring to FIG. 19, in one embodiment, the firearm training system 10includes a trigger pull sensor circuit 502, a processor 504, and adisplay 506. The trigger pull sensor circuit 502 includes at least oneof a barrel displacement sensor (i.e., motion sensing circuit) 50 or atrigger pull path sensor (i.e., position input circuit) 40 and thetrigger 20. The processor 504 includes a memory 512. In one embodiment,the memory 512 of the processor 504 is a computer readable storage mediahaving computer executable instructions stored thereon for training auser via the firearm training system 10. The processor 504 may includeany number of controllers, processing units, processors, or computingdevices in a single housing or in multiple housings. For example,referring to FIG. 9A, the processor 504 may include the microcontroller66 and the display driver 102. The display 506 may be the monitor 101 orany other display associated with the processor 504, remote from thefirearm body 11 or local to the firearm body 11.

Referring to FIG. 20, the processor 504 of FIG. 19 is shown split acrosstwo devices (i.e., the firearm body 11 and the electronic device 100).In the illustrated embodiment, the processor 504 includes a firearmcontroller 66, a 1st transceiver 64, a second transceiver 103, and adevice controller 508 including the memory 512. In the illustratedembodiment, the firearm body 11 also includes a firearm input device 510connected to the firearm controller 66 for turning circuits of thefirearm body 11 on and/or off, and changing a skill level of the firearmtraining system 10.

Referring to FIG. 21, a method of training a user via a firearm trainingsystem 10 begins at 702 with storing a predetermined map (i.e., thepredetermined map 602 were the predetermined map 604) in the memory 512of the firearm training system 10. The predetermined map is atwo-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system representing a physicalplane of the firearm training system 10 (i.e., a physical plane of thefirearm body 11). At 704, the processor 504 captures in the memory 512trigger pull data from the trigger pull sensor circuit 502 in responseto the user pulling the trigger 20 of the firearm training system 11.The processor 504 generates a graph of the captured trigger pull data at706. The processor 504 generates the graph by plotting the capturedtrigger pull data on the predetermined map stored in the memory 512. At708, the processor 504 provides the generated graph to the user via thedisplay 506.

In one embodiment, the processor 504 captures the trigger pull data fromthe trigger pull sensor circuit 502 by initiating data capture when thetrigger 20 of the firearm training system 11 is moved from a triggerdefault position. The processor 504 ends data capture when the trigger20 returns to the trigger default position or reaches a trigger stopposition.

In one embodiment, capturing trigger pull data from the trigger pullsensor circuit 502 includes capturing trigger pull path data from thetrigger pull path sensor 40 of the firearm training system 11. In thisembodiment, generating the graph includes retrieving from the memory 512a skill level, ideal trigger pull data, and the predetermined map 602.The predetermined map 602 is a two-dimensional Cartesian coordinatesystem corresponding to a plane perpendicular to the trigger 20 of thefirearm training system 11 (i.e., the firearm body 10). The processor504 plots an ideal trigger pull path 109 on the retrieved map 602 as afunction of the retrieved ideal trigger pull data. The ideal triggerpath may be straight or include curves. The processor 504 also plots a1st boundary plot 112 a on the retrieved map 602 as a function of theskill level and the ideal trigger pull data. The 1st boundary plot 112 ais on a 1st side of the plotted ideal trigger pull path 109 and isrepresentative of a predetermined threshold difference between the idealtrigger pull data and the received trigger pull data. The predeterminedthreshold difference may vary at different points along the idealtrigger pull path 109. The processor 504 plots a 2nd boundary plot 112 bon the retrieved map 602 as a function of the skill level in the idealtrigger pull data. The 2nd boundary plot 112 b is on a 2nd side of theideal trigger pull path 109 opposite the 1st side and is representativeof a predetermined threshold difference between the ideal trigger pulldata and the received trigger pull data. The predetermined thresholddifference may vary at different points along the ideal trigger pullpath 109.

In one embodiment, the trigger pull data captured by the processor 504from the trigger pull sensor circuit 502 is barrel displacement datafrom the barrel displacement sensor 50 of the firearm training system11. In this embodiment, generating the graph includes retrieving thepredetermined map 604 from the memory 512. The predetermined map 604 isa two-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system corresponding to a planeperpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the firearm training system 11(i.e., the firearm body 10). An origin 116 of the two-dimensionalCartesian coordinate system of the predetermined map 604 corresponds toa reference point of the captured barrel displacement data. Thereference point is the position or direction of the longitudinal axis ofthe firearm body 10 when the user begins to pull the trigger 20. Theprocessor 504 plots a barrel displacement boundary plot 606 on theretrieved map 604 as a function of the reference point and a skill levelretrieved from the memory 512. Barrel displacement boundary plot 606 onthe retrieved map 604 is representative of a predetermined thresholddifference between the barrel displacement data and the reference pointof the barrel displacement data.

In one embodiment, the processor 504 modifies the trigger pull datareceived from the trigger pull sensor circuit 502 by applying a noisereduction algorithm to the captured trigger pull data. The processor 504may also generate an error signal if the modified trigger pull datadeviates from ideal trigger pull data by more than a predeterminedthreshold (i.e., the modified, plotted trigger pull data exceeds any ofthe 1st boundary line plot, the 2nd boundary line plot, or the barreldisplacement boundary plot). The error signal may be used to drive anaudio transducer buzzer 29 providing audible feedback to the user.

In one embodiment, the processor 504 stores a plurality of user profilesin the memory 512. Each user profile has an associated skill level andplurality of trigger pull data sets. Each trigger pull data set of theplurality of trigger pull data sets corresponds to a distinct pull ofthe trigger 20 by the user. The processor 504 determines whethercaptured trigger pull data exceeds a predetermined threshold as afunction of an active user profile and the skill level associated withthe active user profile. The processor 504 may graph (i.e., plot on theappropriate predetermined map) each trigger pull data set of theplurality of trigger pull data sets in a different color. The processor504 may also graph an average trigger pull data set derived by averagingthe plurality of trigger pull data sets.

In one embodiment, the processor 504 and display 506 are associated withan interactive video game console. The firearm body 10 is used as avideo game controller in conjunction with a an interactive video gamerunning on the interactive video game console and displayed on thedisplay 506. The processor 504 blocks a trigger pull from being enteredin the interactive videogame if the captured trigger pull data deviatesfrom ideal trigger pull data by more than a predetermined threshold. Thepredetermined threshold is a function of a skill level. In thisembodiment, the graph is generated upon conclusion of a session of theinteractive video game (i.e., between rounds of the game).

A computer or computing device such as described herein has one or moreprocessors or processing units, system memory, and some form of computerreadable media. A computing device may be a game console. By way ofexample and not limitation, computer readable media comprise computerstorage media and communication media. Computer storage media includevolatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.Communication media typically embody computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includeany information delivery media. Combinations of any of the above arealso included within the scope of computer readable media.

The computer or computing device may operate in a networked environmentusing logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as aremote computer. Although described in connection with an exemplarycomputing system environment, embodiments of the invention areoperational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. The computing systemenvironment is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope ofuse or functionality of any aspect of the invention. Moreover, thecomputing system environment should not be interpreted as having anydependency or requirement relating to any one or combination ofcomponents illustrated in the exemplary operating environment. Examplesof well known computing systems, environments, and/or configurationsthat may be suitable for use with aspects of the invention include, butare not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-held orlaptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems,set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, mobile telephones,network PCs, minicomputers, interactive video game consoles, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

Embodiments of the invention may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed byone or more computers or other devices. The computer-executableinstructions may be organized into one or more computer-executablecomponents or modules. Generally, program modules include, but are notlimited to, routines, programs, objects, components, and data structuresthat perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Aspects of the invention may be implemented with any number andorganization of such components or modules. For example, aspects of theinvention are not limited to the specific computer-executableinstructions or the specific components or modules illustrated in thefigures and described herein. Other embodiments of the invention mayinclude different computer-executable instructions or components havingmore or less functionality than illustrated and described herein.Aspects of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer readable storage media including memory storage devices.

The order of execution or performance of the operations in embodimentsof the invention illustrated and described herein is not essential,unless otherwise specified. That is, the operations may be performed inany order, unless otherwise specified, and embodiments of the inventionmay include additional or fewer operations than those disclosed herein.For example, it is contemplated that executing or performing aparticular operation before, contemporaneously with, or after anotheroperation is within the scope of aspects of the invention.

When introducing elements of aspects of the invention or the embodimentsthereof, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to meanthat there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

Having described aspects of the invention in detail, it will be apparentthat modifications and variations are possible without departing fromthe scope of aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims.As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products,and methods without departing from the scope of aspects of theinvention, it is intended that all matter contained in the abovedescription and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It will be understood by those of skill in the art that information andsignals may be represented using any of a variety of differenttechnologies and techniques (e.g., data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof). Likewise, thevarious illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithmsteps described herein may be implemented as electronic hardware,computer software, or combinations of both, depending on the applicationand functionality. Moreover, the various logical blocks, modules,circuits, and controllers described herein may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor (e.g., microprocessor,conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, state machine orcombination of computing devices), a digital signal processor (“DSP”),an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”), a fieldprogrammable gate array (“FPGA”) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.Similarly, steps of a method or process described herein may be embodieddirectly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, orin a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage mediumknown in the art. Although embodiments of the present invention havebeen described in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in theart that various modifications can be made therein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

It will be understood that the particular embodiments described hereinare shown by way of illustration and not as limitations of theinvention. The principal features of this invention may be employed invarious embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize numerous equivalentsto the specific procedures described herein. Such equivalents areconsidered to be within the scope of this invention and are covered bythe claims.

All of the compositions and/or methods disclosed and claimed herein maybe made and/or executed without undue experimentation in light of thepresent disclosure. While the compositions and methods of this inventionhave been described in terms of the embodiments included herein, it willbe apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that variations may beapplied to the compositions and/or methods and in the steps or in thesequence of steps of the method described herein without departing fromthe concept, spirit, and scope of the invention. All such similarsubstitutes and modifications apparent to those skilled in the art aredeemed to be within the spirit, scope, and concept of the invention asdefined by the appended claims.

Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of thepresent invention of a new and useful Firearm Trigger Pull TrainingSystem and Methods, it is not intended that such references be construedas limitations upon the scope of this invention except as set forth inthe following claims.

Thus, although there have been described particular embodiments of thepresent invention of a new and useful TriggerMaster Software it is notintended that such references be construed as limitations upon the scopeof this invention except as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A firearm training system comprising: a firearmbody; a trigger on the firearm body, the trigger moveable relative tothe firearm body; a trigger pull sensor circuit including a trigger pullpath sensor, the sensor operable to provide trigger pull path data inresponse to a user pulling the trigger of the firearm training system,the trigger pull path data being representative of the actual twodimensional pull path of the trigger of the firearm training system; anda processor operable to: receive the trigger pull path data from thetrigger pull sensor circuit; and generate a graph based on the triggerpull path data, wherein the processor graphs the trigger pull path databy plotting a line representative of the actual two dimensional triggerpull path of the trigger relative to the firearm body in a predeterminedmap, wherein the predetermined map is a two dimensional Cartesiancoordinate system representing a physical plane of the firearm body;wherein the predetermined map comprises a plot in the two dimensionalCartesian coordinate system of an ideal trigger pull path correspondingto ideal trigger pull data representative of an ideal pull path of thetrigger.
 2. The firearm training system of claim 1, further comprising adisplay operable to receive the generated graph from the processor anddisplay the received graph to the user.
 3. The firearm training systemof claim 1, wherein: the predetermined map comprises: a first boundaryplot on a first side of the ideal trigger pull path, said first boundaryplot representative of a predetermined threshold of difference betweenthe ideal trigger pull data and the received trigger pull path data; anda second boundary plot representative of the predetermined threshold ona second side of the ideal trigger pull path opposite the first side,said second boundary plot representative of the predetermined thresholdof difference between the ideal trigger pull data and the receivedtrigger pull path data.
 4. The firearm training system of claim 1,wherein: the trigger pull sensor circuit comprises a barrel displacementsensor operable to provide barrel displacement data in response to theuser pulling the trigger of the firearm training system; wherein theprocessor is operable to generate a barrel displacement graph based onthe barrel displacement data, wherein the processor graphs the barreldisplacement data by plotting a line representative of the barreldisplacement path in a predetermined barrel displacement map, whereinthe predetermined barrel displacement map is a two dimensional Cartesiancoordinate system corresponding to a plane perpendicular to alongitudinal axis of the firearm training system, wherein an origin ofthe two dimensional Cartesian coordinate system of the predetermined mapcorresponds to a reference point of the barrel displacement data, andwherein the predetermined barrel displacement map comprises a barreldisplacement boundary plot representative of a predetermined thresholdof difference between the barrel displacement data and the referencepoint of the barrel displacement data.
 5. The firearm training system ofclaim 1, wherein: the processor is further operable to: modify thetrigger pull path data by applying at least one noise reductionalgorithm to the received trigger pull path data; and generate an errorsignal if the modified trigger pull path data deviates from idealtrigger pull path data by more than a predetermined threshold; and thefirearm training system further comprises an audio transducer operableto receive the error signal and general an audible sound in response toreceiving the error signal from the processor.
 6. The firearm trainingsystem of claim 1, wherein: the processor is further operable togenerate an error signal if the trigger pull path data deviates fromideal trigger pull data by more than a predetermined threshold, whereinthe predetermined threshold is a function of a skill level and the skilllevel is a function of an active user profile; and the firearm trainingsystem further comprises an audio transducer operable to receive theerror signal and general an audible sound in response to receiving theerror signal from the processor.
 7. The firearm training system of claim1, wherein: the processor comprises a memory operable to store aplurality of trigger pull data sets, wherein each trigger pull data setof the plurality of trigger pull data sets is trigger pull path dataprovided from a distinct pull of the trigger by the user; and theprocessor generates the graph based on the plurality of trigger pulldata sets by plotting each of the trigger pull data sets in thepredetermined map in a different color.
 8. The firearm training systemof claim 1, wherein: the processor comprises a memory operable to storea plurality of trigger pull data sets, wherein each trigger pull dataset of the plurality of trigger pull data sets is trigger pull path dataprovided from a distinct pull of the trigger by the user; and theprocessor generates the graph based on the plurality of trigger pulldata sets by averaging the plurality of data sets and plotting anaverage of the plurality of data sets in the predetermined map.
 9. Thefirearm training system of claim 1, wherein the processor comprises: afirearm controller in a firearm body of the firearm training system,said firearm controller operable to capture the trigger pull path datafrom the trigger pull sensor circuit; and a device controller in anelectronic device of the firearm training system, said device controlleroperable to receive the trigger pull path data from the firearmcontroller and generate the graph, wherein the electronic devicecomprises a display operable to display the generated graph to the user.10. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media havinginstructions stored thereon, wherein said instructions are executable bya computing device, said instructions for performing the steps of:storing a predetermined map in a memory of the computing device, whereinthe map is a two dimensional Cartesian coordinate system representing aphysical plane of a firearm training system; capturing, in the memory,trigger pull path data from a trigger pull sensor in a trigger pullsensor circuit of the firearm training system, the trigger pull pathdata being representative of the actual two dimensional pull path of atrigger in the firearm training system; generating a graph by plottingthe captured trigger pull path data as a line representative of theactual two dimensional pull path of the trigger on the predeterminedmap; and displaying the generated graph to a user on a displayassociated with the computing device; wherein generating the graphcomprises: retrieving, from the memory, a skill level, ideal triggerpull data, and the predetermined map, wherein the predetermined mapcorresponds to a plane perpendicular to the trigger of the firearmtraining system; and plotting an ideal trigger pull path on theretrieved map as a function of the retrieved ideal trigger pull data.11. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 10,wherein capturing trigger pull path data from the trigger pull sensorcircuit comprises: initiating data capture when the trigger of thefirearm training system is moved from a trigger default position; andending data capture when the trigger returns to the trigger defaultposition or reaches a trigger stop position.
 12. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage media of claim 10 wherein: generating thegraph comprises: plotting a first boundary plot on the retrieved map asa function of the skill level and the ideal trigger pull data, whereinthe first boundary plot is on a first side of the plotted ideal triggerpull path and is representative of a predetermined threshold ofdifference between the ideal trigger pull data and the received triggerpull path data; and plotting a second boundary plot on the retrieved mapas a function of the skill level and the ideal trigger pull data,wherein the second boundary plot is on a second side of the plottedideal trigger pull path opposite the first side and is representative ofthe predetermined threshold of difference between the ideal trigger pulldata and the received trigger pull path data.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage media of claim 10, further comprising:capturing barrel displacement data from a barrel displacement sensor ofthe firearm training system; and generating the graph comprises:retrieving, from the memory a skill level and a predetermined barreldisplacement map, wherein the predetermined barrel displacement map is atwo dimensional Cartesian coordinate system corresponding to a planeperpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the firearm training system,wherein an origin of the two dimensional Cartesian coordinate system ofthe predetermined barrel displacement map corresponds to a referencepoint of the captured barrel displacement data; plotting a barreldisplacement boundary plot on the retrieved barrel displacement map as afunction of the reference point and the skill level, wherein the barreldisplacement boundary plot on the retrieved map is representative of apredetermined threshold of difference between the barrel displacementdata and the reference point of the barrel displacement data.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 10, furthercomprising: modifying the trigger pull path data by applying at leastone noise reduction algorithm to the captured trigger pull path data;and generating an error signal if the modified trigger pull path datadeviates from ideal trigger pull data by more than a predeterminedthreshold, wherein the predetermined threshold is a function of a skilllevel stored in the memory.
 15. The non-transitory computer readablestorage media of claim 10, further comprising: generating an errorsignal if the captured trigger pull path data deviates from idealtrigger pull data by more than a predetermined threshold, wherein thepredetermined threshold is a function of a skill level and the skilllevel is a function of an active user profile.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable storage media of claim 10, further comprising: storinga plurality of trigger pull data sets in the memory, wherein eachtrigger pull data set of the plurality of trigger pull data sets istrigger pull path data captured from a distinct pull of a trigger of thefirearm training system by a user; and wherein generating the graphcomprises plotting each of the trigger pull data sets in thepredetermined map in a different color.
 17. The non-transitory computerreadable storage media of claim 10, further comprising: storing aplurality of trigger pull data sets in the memory, wherein each triggerpull data set of the plurality of trigger pull data sets is trigger pullpath data provided from a distinct pull of a trigger of the firearmtraining system by a user; and wherein generating the graph comprises:computing an average of the plurality of data sets; and plotting anaverage of the plurality of data sets in the predetermined map.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 10, furthercomprising: blocking a trigger pull from an interactive video gamedisplayed on the display if the captured trigger pull data deviates fromideal trigger pull data by more than a predetermined threshold, whereinthe predetermined threshold is a function of a skill level, and whereinthe graph is generated upon conclusion of a session of the interactivevideo game.
 19. A method of training a user via a firearm trainingsystem, said method comprising: storing a predetermined map in a memoryof the firearm training system, wherein the map is a two dimensionalCartesian coordinate system representing a physical plane of the firearmtraining system; capturing, in the memory, trigger pull data from atrigger pull sensor circuit of the firearm training system in responseto the user pulling a trigger of the firearm training system, thetrigger pull data including data representative of an actual twodimensional pull path taken by a trigger of the firearm training systemalong the physical plane on the firearm training system during a triggerpull; generating a graph by plotting the captured trigger pull data as aline representative of the actual two dimensional pull path taken by thetrigger on the predetermined map; and displaying the generated graph tothe user on a display associated with the firearm training system. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein capturing trigger pull data from thetrigger pull sensor circuit comprises: initiating data capture when thetrigger of the firearm training system is moved from a trigger defaultposition; and ending data capture when the trigger returns to thetrigger default position or reaches a trigger stop position.
 21. Themethod of claim 19, wherein: capturing trigger pull data from thetrigger pull sensor circuit comprises capturing trigger pull path datafrom a trigger pull path sensor of the firearm training system; andgenerating the graph comprises: retrieving, from the memory a skilllevel, ideal trigger pull data, and the predetermined map, wherein thepredetermined map is a two dimensional Cartesian coordinate systemcorresponding to a plane perpendicular to the trigger of the firearmtraining system; plotting an ideal trigger pull path on the retrievedmap as a function of the retrieved ideal trigger pull data; plotting afirst boundary plot on the retrieved map as a function of the skilllevel and the ideal trigger pull data, wherein the first boundary plotis on a first side of the plotted ideal trigger pull path and isrepresentative of a predetermined threshold of difference between theideal trigger pull data and the received trigger pull data; and plottinga second boundary plot on the retrieved map as a function of the skilllevel and the ideal trigger pull data, wherein the second boundary plotis on a second side of the plotted ideal trigger pull path opposite thefirst side and is representative of the predetermined threshold ofdifference between the ideal trigger pull data and the received triggerpull data.
 22. The method of claim 19, further comprising: modifying thetrigger pull data by applying at least one noise reduction algorithm tothe captured trigger pull data; and generating an error signal if themodified trigger pull data deviates from ideal trigger pull data by morethan a predetermined threshold, wherein the predetermined threshold is afunction of a skill level.
 23. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising: generating an error signal if the captured trigger pull datadeviates from ideal trigger pull data by more than a predeterminedthreshold, wherein the predetermined threshold is a function of a skilllevel and the skill level is a function of an active user profile. 24.The method of claim 19, further comprising: storing a plurality oftrigger pull data sets in the memory, wherein each trigger pull data setof the plurality of trigger pull data sets is trigger pull data capturedfrom a distinct pull of the trigger of the firearm training system bythe user; and wherein generating the graph comprises plotting each ofthe trigger pull data sets in the predetermined map in a differentcolor.
 25. The method of claim 19, further comprising: storing aplurality of trigger pull data sets in the memory, wherein each triggerpull data set of the plurality of trigger pull data sets is trigger pulldata provided from a distinct pull of the trigger of the firearmtraining system by the user; and wherein generating the graph comprises:computing an average of the plurality of data sets; and plotting anaverage of the plurality of data sets in the predetermined map.
 26. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: blocking a trigger pull from aninteractive video game displayed on the display if the captured triggerpull data deviates from ideal trigger pull data by more than apredetermined threshold, wherein the predetermined threshold is afunction of a skill level, and wherein the graph is generated uponconclusion of a session of the interactive video game.